Thursday, January 16, 2014

Before Beginning the Basics

Sometimes, we can jump right in to our family history
research. Sometimes, we need to do some prep work before we can even start researching.

To begin the project ahead of us, I need to take that second
route and provide some background information on the Davis
family of Erwin, Tennessee.

I mentioned yesterday, now that I’ve shared what I know
about Lummie Davis Moore and her husband Wallace, I want to introduce each of
Lummie’s siblings. And, in a way, I’ve already done that. I’ve
mentioned that Lummie had two sisters—Mabel and Chevis—and that her youngest
sibling was a brother the family called, in his adult years, Jack.

That was not the complete family, though. As happened quite
often in families of the 1800s and earlier, there were more births than there
were, eventually, mouths to feed. Lummie’s mother, Martha Cassandra Boothe Davis, had claimed for the 1900 census record that she was the mother of six
children, four of whom had survived—at least until the turn of that century.

Because my aunt had shared with me—years ago—the data from
the Davis
family Bible (which, at the time, was in her possession), I knew the names for
those six children. It wasn’t a mystery for me, or the beginning of any fruitless
chase for missing documentation. It was all recorded in that family Bible—which,
now, my aunt has passed to me.

After Lummie’s sister Mabel was born in 1888, Will and
Cassie Davis had another daughter, whom they named Georgia Cleo. She was born
January 27, 1891. Though I don’t know exactly what happened to her, I know hers
was a life that was all too brief. She was still a toddler when she passed on September
9, 1892.

A bit over a year after losing Georgia, Will and Cassie
welcomed yet another daughter—Mary Chevis, whom I’ll begin discussing tomorrow.

Almost as an afterthought nearly four years later, the “caboose”
of the family came with a surprise: twins. Jack Davis, my grandfather, had
arrived October 31, 1897, with a companion. The family named the two Roby Jake
and Rovy M. Davis. Rovy, however, was not a baby that thrived. Family stories
were that there were stomach or intestinal problems—most likely of a kind that
could easily have been remedied by modern medical techniques today. Back then,
though, such a child was not likely to survive, and that became Rovy’s fate on October
17, 1898.

There they all were—all six names, neatly followed by dates
of birth and, in some cases, dates of death in the family Bible. But that was
all there was: just names and dates. Beyond that, and a few family stories my
mother remembered to pass along to her children, there was not much more.

As I found out, even the family stories were not quite so
accurate. The first place I realized that was in the search for the life story
of Mary Chevis.

Far Side, thank you for posting that link. Fascinating--though gruesome--information. We have no idea how difficult survival was, even less than one hundred years ago, due to these many diseases listed.

That would most likely explain a possible reason for the loss of the Davis' daughter Georgia, who died in the same year as that cholera epidemic.

Cholera would make sense, based on the symptoms. But for the twin that died, the date of death was several years later--1898. The way the family put it, the problem seemed to be more of a case of intestinal blockage or malfunction than disease. Obviously, my grandfather made it through ;)

Hopefully, a bit more searching may reveal a possible answer. I wish the Erwin newspaper was available online. At some point, I may just have to make a trip back to explore this part of my roots.

About Me

It is my contention that, after a lifetime, one of the greatest needs people have is to be remembered. They want to know: have I made a difference?
I write because I can't keep for myself the gifts others have entrusted to me. Through what I've already been given--though not forgetting those to whom I must pass this along--from family I receive my heritage; through family I leave a legacy. With family I weave a tapestry. These are my strands.